The recent deaths of two Guatemalan children, while in U.S. custody after crossing the border, should stir us to action.

Increased medical care for migrants making the dangerous journey to America is urgent to prevent these tragedies from occurring again. As Carolyn Miles, president of Save the Children, says “Every child has a right to safety, protection and a future. We must protect children at the border.”

Miles and other advocates also urge more humanitarian action in Central America itself. We need to open our eyes to the plight of Guatemala’s children. They are hungry and malnourished.

A major root cause as to why people are fleeing Guatemala to the United States is hunger and poverty. The same can be said for the other Northern Triangle countries Honduras and El Salvador.

The hunger that exists in Guatemala takes its heaviest toll on the children. According to a USAID report , "Guatemala has the fourth-highest level of chronic malnutrition in the world and the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean; approximately 50 percent of Guatemalan children younger than five years of age are stunted due to chronic food insecurity."

Malnutrition causes lasting physical and mental damage to children. It impairs their health and their ability to learn and develop.

The UN World Program says that climate change related disasters have made Guatemala's situation even worse. Drought has limited farmer’s ability to grow food.

Imagine you are a small farmer in Guatemala who depends on growing food to make a living. As any farmer will tell you, it’s hard enough to grow crops in the best of times. If there is drought, growing crops becomes impossible.

What if that same farmer gets help to withstand the drought season? What if that farmer lands an account to supply food for a school feeding program in the community?

The UN World Food Program has a pilot project under way to connect farmers to schools so they can supply their feeding programs. There should be more of this.

Imagine if there was a program to provide every child in Guatemala with school meals and take home rations. Children would be fed and also encouraged to stay in school with the rations. A feeding program could also take place for every child under five to prevent the devastation of early malnutrition.

There is some school feeding now by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Save the Children. These are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s McGovern-Dole program. We should expand these child feeding programs in Guatemala.

Food can improve opportunities in Guatemala and reduce a push factor that drives families to migrate.

The Congress should increase our food assistance programs and this would do far more good than building a border wall. Building walls does not address the root causes of migration and will divert precious resources and attention from possible solutions.

As we mourn the passing of two Guatemalan children, let’s realize we can save others if we have the will and heart. Food and hope are what can make a huge difference for Guatemala’s children and their families.

William Lambers is an author who partnered with the UN World Food Program on the book Ending World Hunger. His writing has been published by the NY Times, Baltimore Sun, History News Network, and many other news outlets.